Simplify production from point of donation to point of sale with a modern retail management system (RMS).
Non-profit thrift retailers aren’t like every other retailer. For non-profits, it’s about their mission. Profits from thrift retail operations are a means to an end, reinvested to help advance their greater mission.
Thrift stores sell mostly donated, used goods with limited amounts of new inventory. As a result, they require goods intake and processing, as well as donor tracking and donation receipts. Profits are dependent on how fast and efficiently they can process these donations to the retail floor. Pricing and discount programs for the thrift market also have unique requirements that vary from the typical retail model.
These specific requirements, combined with an often-limited budget, can make it difficult for thrift retailers to know how to maximize efficiency and help strengthen their retail operations. The good news is that modern, cloud-based retail management technology can address the unique needs of thrift retailers without breaking the bank.
Retailers often use the terms retail management systems (RMS) and point of sale (POS) systems interchangeably. In fact, there are key differences, the most important being that an RMS is much more comprehensive than a simple POS system. For example, retail management systems typically support pricing, customer loyalty and management programs, inventory management, purchasing and receiving, point of sale, and analytics and reporting, among other areas. Point of sale is just one subset of the full range of RMS capabilities.
Cost-conscious thrift retailers might look at a long list of RMS capabilities and ask if their business needs that functionality, or if a simple POS will suffice. It’s important to consider the big picture when considering this purchase. The advantage of an RMS with thrift-specific capabilities is that it not only provides the POS functionality, it is also equipped to handle donated goods intake, donation tracking, donor capture and receipts, donation processing and management, built-in loyalty, color rotations, and much more.
However, not all RMS technology is created equal. Some retail management systems don’t have thorough thrift-specific functionality or the flexibility to meet your individual thrift operation’s needs, while others require costly investment in on-premises IT servers or other IT infrastructure. Still others have outdated interfaces and workflows that don’t deliver the promised efficiency gains they touted in the sales process.
A modern, cloud-based RMS with thrift-specific functionality simplifies your thrift operations without the IT infrastructure and maintenance support costs associated with on-premises solutions. The advantages of the cloud are well documented and provide thrift retailers with numerous benefits, including a lower total cost of ownership.
Any technology that a thrift retailer purchases should enhance their daily operations in easily measurable ways; at Goodwill of Greater Detroit, for example, they quickly realized the value of their investment.
What can you expect and what benefits can you realize by applying RMS technology to thrift retail? The answer depends on many factors: where you are starting from, how you implement the system, and which RMS technology you purchase. However, some ways an RMS can enhance your thrift retail business include:
A well-designed RMS with the right thrift capabilities can simplify your operations. With an easy-to-use, intuitive interface and streamlined workflows, employees at all experience levels can learn and onboard quickly. Purposefully built workflows reduce the steps needed for each task, speeding completion time, boosting productivity, and reducing errors.
For example, many thrift stores prefer to use a simplified price tagging process that minimizes labor touching the donated goods, so they can get items to the floor as fast as possible. Without scannable tags, this process often results in more keystrokes at the point of sale. In contrast, a strong RMS will include built-in functionality like item quick find, donations and donation-only transactions, integrated credit card processing, and customizable receipts. These capabilities, empower staff at the point of sale to accommodate diverse customer and donor needs, maximize efficiency, and expedite sales transactions.
At the heart of thrift retail is the customer. Creating a great customer experience and growing loyalty is the key to retail success; a good RMS can help thrift retailers achieve these goals. We have already discussed some of the benefits of the POS functionality within a modern RMS. Now, let’s consider the value of this functionality from a customer perspective.
The customer might want to check the price they paid for a particular item on their last visit as they are checking out. With access to customer information that the RMS provides right at the point of sale, store employees can easily look this information up on the spot. If there is an issue that needs a manager override, the manager can easily take care of it from their mobile device so that the customer isn’t delayed.
Because POS screens are intuitive and easily navigable, checking out takes less time, making your thrift store a convenient place to shop. A good RMS also provides loyalty and reward program functionality that helps enhance the customer experience while supporting repeat visits.
What happens in your store today if you lose the internet? How does your business continue to process transactions? For many retailers, an internet outage brings the store to a grinding halt. It doesn’t have to be that way, says Wes Snedden, Donated Goods Regional Manager at Goodwill of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. “The Propello offline function allows us to still operate even if we don’t have Internet,” he explains. “We’ve been able to process transactions and keep the flow of customers moving, even when the Internet was down.”
A cloud-based RMS can also impact your bottom line by saving you money normally spent on IT infrastructure and associated on-premises maintenance costs, while also eliminating the need for time-consuming manual software updates.
Other ways an RMS can positively impact thrift store profitability include rule-based promotions, loyalty and rewards program management, an improved POS interface, and tools that minimize errors.
Making decisions about retail operations should never be a guessing game. A good RMS will consolidate data, providing a single source of truth that can deliver timely business insights. With the right solution in place, your employees can easily track donors, access receipts, and view end-of-day reports on donations received directly from the RMS. With thrift production dashboards, sell-through analytics for those doing processing, customer buying information and more, you can immediately get a big-picture view of your thrift retail operations. Ultimately, the value of centralized retail operations data with associated reporting and analytics lies in its ability to help thrift retailers understand their business better, informing and accelerating customer-focused decisions.
